What do a scifi/fantasy romance writer and historical romance writer have in common?
Well for Jan Selbourne and me it was a mutual love of writing.
After reading Perilous Love, I became a fan of her writing. In Perilous Love, Jan dragged me through a gambit of emotions including being very annoyed I had to go to sleep and wouldn’t get back to her book until much later the next day.
Jan and I talked writing and went back and forth a bit. I’m not sure how the conversation started but I said we should write a book together. I love her style and her attention to detail, so I thought we could work together to create a story.
It started more in fun – well, what could we write together. I don’t know how we settled on alternate history but it seemed to work. History was involved which hit on Jan’s strengths and it being tweaked and a bit different.. well that describes me I think.
Both Jan and I write as we go. There’s no grand plan or outline. We sit down and write. How in the world were we going to write a story together? So we talked through ideas. Some were rubbish and others were brilliant. Once we had a rough idea of where we thought we were going, we started writing. We started this in 2020 so with all the COVID and political unrest and difficulties, we tapped into the conspiracies of government and big business. Corruption is one of the themes in the book but also coverups.
Jan picked the names. I hate picking character names. In my head they are character 1 or character 2 or something similar until they coalesce into something more. One thing we did discuss was Susan needed to be strong. Moments of stress didn’t result in her breaking down in tears or falling apart. We tapped into her fears and let the reader see them. At one point, she’s walking through a dark tunnel. She feels like the walls are closing in and her fear climbs. Tapping into those feelings are key for the development of the character and progression of the story.
We opted to swap chapters. I’d write one then she’d write one. When it was her turn to write, I had to force myself to not go in and read behind her. I loved reading where she took us and our characters. After reading her chapters, I had to catch my breath. I tapped into the characters and thought okay, what’s next?
There were moments when I thought ‘huh, hadn’t planned to go there’ but as I read what she wrote, I was amazed and thrilled. Her writing inspired my writing. I hope mine did the same for her.
There were times she said – I’m writing this scene – I was perfectly okay with that because there were scenes I knew I wanted to write. I think our styles complimented each other nicely. By tapping into our strengths, I think it gave our story more depth and breadth. I also think it strengthened our friendship.
BLURB:
USA Today Bestselling Author Eileen Troemel and 2019 winner of Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the year silver medal for Historical Fiction Jan Selbourne present an alternate history, sweet romance of life after the Moon Landing in 1969.
In 2030, World Correction Center – the Earth’s most secure prison – is a miserable place to land. Since it’s on the moon, it’s inescapable. It contains the worst criminals Earth has ever seen. So why are the brilliant minds across the globe being sent to this black hole of the justice system?
When world-renowned archeologist Micky Cooper is charged with embezzling, his sister Susan knows it’s a set up. It’s up to her to prove his innocence. Susan thinks she might be paranoid but she swears she’s being followed and should she trust the nice man whose cousin has disappeared as well? Was it just a chance meeting or is he against her too?
Teaming up with Greg Tanner, a man equally resolved to prove the innocence of his cousin, Samantha Tanner – a world leading linguist. Susan and Greg seek clues wherever they can find them but they’re barely keeping one step ahead of those who want them to stop.
They begin to unravel the web of lies, fraud and cover up. Just when they start to put the pieces together, Susan and Greg are forced to run for their lives. With a nudge from Samantha, they find someone to help. Is this woman an ally? Or simply part of a greater conspiracy to hide the truth? What exactly is on the moon and why are the Earth’s greatest minds being sent there to serve time?
Buy link:
Universal: https://books2read.com/mooncrossing
Excerpt:
Finally at the front, she saw the little line on the sidewalk. The signs said no matter what, stay behind the line. Why? Did they think her powerful enough to break through a steel cage and bullet proof window? She forced a smile on her face as she fought her own rebellious nature. Putting her toes on the line, she raised her eyes to meet those of the officer.
The officer behind the window glanced her way. She flashed a sweet almost innocent smile to charm him. He paused momentarily, “State the name of the prisoner.”
“Micky… Michael James Cooper,” Susan heard the whir of the computer through the thick walls as the officer typed in her brother’s name. Biting her lip, she waited.
The officer stared at the screen, an eerie green reflection on his face. He glanced at her, frowned, and glanced back to his screen. “He’s not assigned,” the officer said.
“Can you tell me when he will be assigned,” Susan asked stepping closer to the window. She stepped over the line, but no one burst out of the doors to drag her away.
With his Adam’s apple bobbing, the officer looked into her pretty blue eyes. He licked his lips as he took in her tight sweater and her curves. Pencil skirts highlighted her narrow waist and flat stomach. Susan saw the desire she endured from men since she got breasts at ten. Men. She tried to keep the disgust she felt hidden.
“He’s been assigned,” the officer said reluctantly shifting his eyes back to the screen. “There’s no backlog of prisoners. They either get a prison in the US, or they go off to WCC.”
“What’s WCC?”
“World Correctional Center,” he informed.
“Sergeant Brady,” she read off his name from the tag on his gray uniform, “I know you get a lot of flak from people all day long, I don’t want to cause trouble. I want to send my brother some food and other creature comforts.”
Sergeant Brady adjusted his belt as he stood behind the glass and metal counter. “Most likely they sent him to the moon,” he said. “Those designations always take longer to get in the system.”
“May I ask you a simple question,” Susan said putting on her ‘I’m a dumb girl act’.
“Anything I can do to help,” Officer Brady said, grinning when she gave him a half smile.
“I thought they only sent the worst criminals there,” she said leaning forward to give him a better view of her cleavage. “I know Son of Sam and Charles Manson were sent to the dark side of the moon. Why would they send my brother who… well he did something with the computer, and they said he stole money.”
“It’s all up to the International Department of Justice,” Officer Brady said leaning towards the glass. “They assign the prisoners to the prison.”
“You’re so kind,” Susan beamed at him. “Who can I contact…”
“You can’t and you are beyond the line,” snapped an officer behind Brady, who jumped to attention.
“Oh, forgive me,” Susan said stepping back. This man was not swayed by her helpless girl act. “Thank you for your assistance.”
Turning away from the head of the line, Susan felt a flush rush across her face. How dare they? The dark side of the moon. Why send her brother? They convicted him of embezzlement. Murders, mass murderers, traitors were all sent to the dark side of the moon.
Meet the Authors:
Eileen Troemel:
USA Today Bestseller Author Eileen Troemel writes action packed and emotionally powerful fantasy, scifi, romance. She’s versatile and writes in many genres. She’ll try almost any genre if it means she can tell a good story. In addition to her writing, she loves to read, crochet, and research genealogy. Her best days are spent with her family of three adult daughters and her husband or writing.
LINKS:
Website: https://eileentroemel.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/EileenTroemel
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EileenTroemelAuthor/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/eileentroemel/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-troemel-6667825b/
MeWe https://mewe.com/i/eileentroemel
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7868345.Eileen_Troemel
Jan Selbourne:
Jan Selbourne was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia and her love of literature and history began as soon as she learned to read and hold a pen. After graduating from a Melbourne Business College her career began in the dusty world of ledgers and accounting, working in Victoria, Queensland and the United Kingdom. On the point of retiring, she changed course to work as secretary of a large NSW historical society. Now retired Jan is enjoying her love of travelling and literature. She has two children, a stray live in cat and lives near Maitland, New South Wales
Website: https://nomadauthors.com/JanSelbourne/index.html
Blog: http://nomadauthors.com/blog
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JanSelbourne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jan.selbourne
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14661584.Jan_Selbourne?from_search=true
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Selbourne/
/B0184OSZ6E/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/h8t2y6
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-selbourne-2817b6140/
Welcome, Eileen and Jan!
Thank you very much Dee.
It was a privilege to write The Moon Crossing with Eileen, she pulled me out of my historical fiction comfort zone, and I was heading into the future.
We started with a few ideas and it wasn’t long before our characters were in charge.
Thanks so much Eileen, it was quite a ride to the moon!!
My review will be up very soon. Spoiler alert: I think it will be good. 😉
Thank you for letting me share our experience!
Absolutely! Anytime.